Browns reach agreement to sign defensive tackle Sheldon Richardson

Tuesday

Minnesota Vikings defensive tackle Sheldon Richardson has agreed to sign with the Browns when free agency begins, a person familiar with the deal confirmed Tuesday morning.

ESPN reported Richardson will receive a three-year, $39 million contract, which includes $21.5 million guaranteed. No deals can be finalized until the NFL's new year starts at 4 p.m. Wednesday.

Richardson, 28, will give the Browns another major addition to their defensive line after they agreed Friday to trade for New York Giants edge rusher Olivier Vernon, who'll start opposite Pro Bowl defensive end Myles Garrett. Richardson, 6-foot-3 and 295 pounds, plays the three-technique position the Browns sought to upgrade next to nose tackle Larry Ogunjobi.

The addition of Richardson should also afford General Manager John Dorsey more flexibility in the April 25-27 NFL Draft. The Browns have the 17th overall pick, where many analysts had projected them to choose a defensive tackle prior to the acquisition of Richardson.

In Richardson's six NFL seasons (four with the New York Jets, one with the Seattle Seahawks and another with the Vikings), the 13th overall pick in the 2013 draft has started 87 of the 89 regular-season games in which he has appeared and compiled 335 tackles, 23.5 sacks, six forced fumbles, five fumble recoveries, seven passes defensed and an interception.

Last season with the Vikings, Richardson started all 16 games and had 49 tackles and 4.5 sacks.

Richardson won the Associated Press NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year award in 2013 and went to the Pro Bowl in 2014, when he racked up a career-high eight sacks for the Jets.

Then his off-field behavior began to cost him.

The NFL suspended him for the first four games of the 2015 season under its substance-abuse policy after he tested positive for marijuana. The league also suspended him for the first game of the 2016 season under its personal-conduct policy after he tried to outrun police in his hometown of St. Louis, driving 143 mph before being apprehended. Police found a legally registered handgun and smelled marijuana in the car, which had three passengers, including a 12-year-old boy.

About a week before the 2017 season opener, the Jets traded Richardson to the Seahawks for wide receiver Jermaine Kearse and a 2018 second-round selection. After Richardson's lone season with the Seahawks, he signed a one-year, $8 million contract with the Vikings in 2018.